Enhanced Si Passivation and PERC Solar Cell Efficiency by Atomic Layer Deposited Aluminum Oxide with Two-step Post...

In this study, aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) films were prepared by a spatial atomic layer deposition using deionized water and trimethylaluminum, followed by oxygen (O₂), forming gas (FG), or two-step annealing. Minority carrier lifetime of the samples was measured by Sinton WCT-120. Field-effect passivation and chemical passivation were evaluated by fixed oxide charge (Q_f) and interface defect density (D_it), respectively, using capacitance-voltage measurement. The results show that O₂ annealing gives a high Q_f of - 3.9 × 10¹² cm^-2, whereas FG annealing leads to excellent Si interface hydrogenation with a low D_it of 3.7 × 10¹¹ eV^-1 cm^-2. Based on the consideration of the best field-effect passivation brought by oxygen annealing and the best chemical passivation brought by forming gas, the two-step annealing process was optimized. It is verified that the Al₂O₃ film annealed sequentially in oxygen and then in forming gas exhibits a high Q_f (2.4 × 10¹² cm^-2) and a low D_it (3.1 × 10¹¹ eV^-1 cm^-2), yielding the best minority carrier lifetime of 1097 μs. The SiN_x/Al₂O₃ passivation stack with two-step annealing has a lifetime of 2072 μs, close to the intrinsic lifetime limit. Finally, the passivated emitter and rear cell conversion efficiency was improved from 21.61% by using an industry annealing process to 21.97% by using the two-step annealing process.